In the Woods When First We Met

87. Sisters

Tuesday afternoon Billy got home, dumped his things on the kitchen table, and helped himself to the last pastry from Jane's party. It was dry and crumbly by now since the party had been on Saturday, but he'd finish it anyway; there was only one left.

His mother came in as he was biting into it.

"William," she said. "You could have gotten a plate first. You are not an animal. And please put your things away instead of tossing them on the table."

As Billy moved his things off the table, she frowned and said, "You've already left crumbs on the floor."

"I'll get them, I'll get them," Billy said to her.

But he used his shoe to push the crumbs under the table.

When Jane came in, she hung up her coat and hat and took her books out of her bookstrap. She set her books on the table and sat right down to start on her homework. Billy rolled his eyes at her for starting on homework right away.

He was about to go upstairs, but then he hesitated. "Hey, Jane? Did you invite Anne to your party? I know she didn't come, but did you ask her?"

Jane looked up, surprised. "No," she said. "Even if I'd wanted to, Mother wouldn't have let me."

He nodded.

"Why do you want to know, anyway?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

Jane gave him the side eye. "You don't like her, do you?"

"No!" Billy said, legitimately disgusted.

"I didn't think so," she said.

Billy felt unsettled all evening. Finally he decided he couldn't put it off any longer and was going to have to confront Prissy.

He waited till nighttime. He knocked on her door.

"What?" she called out.

"It's me," he answered.

"Come in," she said. She was sitting by her lamp with a book. "What do you want?"

He just stood there. He realized he didn't know what to say, now that the time had come.

He turned around, looked to make sure no one else was around, and shut the door. He came over and sat down. "I, uh..."

"What is it?" Prissy asked.

"Mr. Phillips," he said bluntly.

Her cheeks grew pink. "What about him?"

Billy looked around, avoiding her eyes. "Um...the day school let out early..."

"Yes...?" Prissy looked uncomfortable.

"I went back. To school. I saw you....and him."

Prissy took a deep breath and closed her book.

"Billy, what you saw was..." She looked like she didn't know what to say. "It was...nothing. He...he likes me. But those rumors...they're not true. Really, they're not." She looked very upset.

"I wasn't assuming you were doing what Anne...what Fido said," he said, shaking his head. "But there was some truth to it- the part about you two being...being together."

She closed her eyes as if wishing this was a bad dream.

"Don't tell our parents or Jane or anybody," she insisted. "Or even Mr. Phillips that you know...no one can know. After what that girl said, I...I can't have anyone thinking she was right."

"She wasn't right!" Billy said. "One kiss doesn't mean anything's happened." He continued, "But Prissy, you...you have to stop this. Can you? Or won't he leave you alone? He should leave you alone, it's not right...he's a man, and you're in school."

"Billy, I don't want him to leave me alone. I like him. And he likes me. ...He might even love me."

Billy shook his head. "He's taking advantage of you."

Prissy said, "He is not! We want to get married."

"What?!" Billy exclaimed.

"Shhh!" she said frantically.

"That's crazy. You can't marry our teacher!"

"It wouldn't be now. It would be later, after I've finished school. I don't have much time left now."

Billy got up to go.

"Billy, you won't tell anyone, will you?" Prissy asked urgently.

"That depends. Can you tell me the truth? All he did was kiss you? Nothing more? Because if he did anything more, then I don't think it's right for him to keep teaching in our school, not when he's taking advantage of a student."

Prissy shook her head. "That was it. Nothing more."

He left her.

Once he was out of her room, he wondered if she was lying to him.